Participants pose for an awareness campaign supporting breast cancer month.
Sidra Medical and Research Center has partnered with the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) to offer free breast cancer screenings at its outpatient clinic in Education City.
The screenings will be held on October 23 and October 25 between 7.30am and 3.30pm. Women between the age group of 45 and 69 years old are encouraged to book a session by calling 800-1112. Women should also bring a valid health card.
“As a hospital dedicated to the care of women and children, we actively support initiatives that can lead to improved and advanced research, treatment and care. Breast cancer is the leading cancer amongst women in Qatar. This World Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we encourage women between the ages of 45 to 69 to book in a screening. I also want to take this as an opportunity to ask sons, brothers and fathers to encourage the women in their family to come in for screenings. Their support and encouragement can go a long way in saving lives,” Bakhita Al Khabbash, Manager, Network Development and Outreach, Women Clinical Management Group at Sidra said.
According to the Qatar National Cancer Registry at the Ministry of Public Health, 16.2 percent of breast cancer cases diagnosed in Qatar are in women aged between 45 and 49 years old. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Qatar and the second leading cause of death in women worldwide.
To coincide with the breast cancer awareness month, healthcare providers in Qatar including Sidra has increased their efforts in promoting awareness importance of prevention, early detection through screening and treatment of breast cancer. Throughout the month, a range of activities are organised aimed at enhancing awareness of breast cancer risk factors among women and increasing knowledge of lesser-known breast cancer symptoms.
The most common symptom of breast cancer is a new lump or mass. Other possible symptoms are swelling of all or part of a breast, skin irritation or dimpling, breast or nipple pain, nipple retraction, redness or thickening of the nipple or breast skin, and nipple discharge (other than breast milk).
